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Monday, June 17, 2013

Fresh Off The Needles: Sleeping Beauty

Happy Monday Friends! Can you believe that we are already halfway through the month? I know, it's crazy! And I've realized that I've barely blogged all month. So I thought I would start the week with a new FO! I'm pretty sure this project doesn't need a huge introduction or anything, but in case you haven't been keeping up with the blog (hey, I get it...we're all busy bees!), this here is my Viajante shawl...also known as Sleeping Beauty!I'm still in shock that I've manage to knit this up within eleven weeks! I honestly thought this would take me at least 6 months, since that's how long it took for me to knit up my Nuvem. Don't get me wrong, I'm totally not complaining! There really isn't much to say about this project since the last post about it, cause really, what more can you say about having to knit stockinette in the round? I'm just proud of myself for not weighing my yarn after every round (like I did with my Nuvem), and will admit that towards the end I became obsessed with finishing the shawl...you know how it is, that crazy feeling you get when you know you are so, so very close to binding off, to being done with the project that you become hellbent on making sure you do bind off before you call it quits for the day and go to bed. So you feverishly knit away and when you bind off that last stitch you realize that it's 3am in the morning. Not that I've done that before......ahem...So anyhoo, since there's not much to say about this project that hasn't already been said before, I thought I would shove in a bunch of photos:

I'm also going to admit that the second I bound off the last stitch I had quickly tried the shawl on. I was a little nervous that the "hood" was still too small for my lollipop head and was a little perplexed that my shawl wasn't as long as the ones that I've seen on Ravelry. On a few threads I had read that some knitters didn't like how tapered and long the "tail" was and as I was looking in the mirror I noticed that mine wasn't long or tapered at all.Until I blocked the bad boy.

As you can see, the tail is actually quite long! Before blocking that tip was hitting mid-calf, and now after blocking, it's trailing along the ground! After taking these photos, I had to pick out little stems, leaves, and strands of grass from the end. And as for the "hood", it opened up beautifully and the fabric creates a nice drape-y neckline. Not at all like the bunched up knitted rolls I had envision it to do before I made the decision to make the opening a little larger than called for.

As did the lace mesh - which in I think I could have made longer since I did have enough yarn left over to do a few more rounds. But I got overly paranoid (as usual) about not having enough yarn to bind off with.

I'm not 100% sure just how I will wear this shawl just yet. It's a very bold statement piece when worn as a poncho/cape and the colour itself is pretty vivid and striking, to the point that when I wear it I feel immediately heroic and valiant.

Don't I look like some sort of super hero from behind? Like Super Woman or Wonder Woman? Yes, I know, Wonder Woman doesn't wear a cape but you know what I mean. Especially with the hair slightly flared out a bit? Definitely makes me feel a little fearless.

Even more so when the shawl is blowing in the wind...Cheesy, yes. Fun, totally!

Even though I complained from time to time that this project was taking me forever to knit, I will say that it was definitely an enjoyable project to knit. I kind of want to knit another! But most likely won't as my queue is now 11 pages long and I've got a million cardigans that I want to cast on for. But I know I'm not the only person that thinks this is a delightful pattern, there are quite a few knitters on Ravelry that have already knit up their third and fourth Viajantes!So...have you knit one yet? Or are you planning on knitting one? Let me know, I love seeing everyone's projects! ♥PS: Because I know my family reads my blog from time to time, and some of you are a little superstitious, I just want to put it out there that the Munchkin did NOT accompany me to the cemetery. He was also no where near the cemetery at the time of this photo shoot So no need to worry, his soul is still intact.

Looks beautiful Melissa! I'm just over halfway done my Viajante - can I asked how on earth you blocked this? I've suddenly realized that I probably don't have a surface large enough to block on, and should probably get some blocking wires as well...

Blocking the Viajante DID take up a fair amount of room in my living room. But luckily it took about a day to dry so it wasn't too bad! I wet blocked my shawl, and when then had spread it out using the straight side (the side you didn't increase on) as a guide for the rest. For that straight edge, I had pinned a length of waste yarn next to the edge as a guide - so I knew if my edge was somewhat straight or not while I used 2 blocking wires to get it straight. Then along the "curved" side I used about 3 wires to get a nice smooth curve. The hem of the lace, I think I used another 2 wires and had threaded them through the edge to get the lace looking nice. I'm an aggressive blocker so it took a lot of pinning and re-pinning. The tip is the tricky part to get the lace to open up, but I just used a lot of pins. I hope that helps!! ♥

That is so cool! I'm not really a shawl person but this one with the hood is something I think I could work into my wardrobe. You look awesome in it! I lov your photos too. Very little red riding hood. All your missing is a basket!

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